[Yonhap News Photo ]
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Aju News) -- South and North Korea officials held talks on possible rapprochement Monday and agreed to cooperate for the development of sustainable inter-Korean relations and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, the president's office said.
The meeting over launch at an undisclosed location was attended by National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, the top security aide of President Moon Jae-in, and Lee Do-hoon, the chief negotiator in six-way nuclear talks, Moon's office said in a statement. The six-party forum grouping the two Koreas, China, Japan and the United States has been stalled since late 2008 when Pyongyang walked away.
The North Korean side was led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the United Front Department (UFD), the office said, adding the two sides assessed that the Winter Olympics provided a "meaningful" opportunity for peace on the Korean peninsula and the restoration of cross-border relations.
They agreed to "cooperate for the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, the development of sustainable inter-Korean relations and balanced progress in cooperation with the international community", according to the statement.
Monday's meeting came a day after North Korea expressed its willingness to hold dialogue and develop relations with the United States.
At talks with Kim ahead of the closing ceremony of the Olympics, Moon called for the quick resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States for the improvement of inter-Korean relations and the "fundamental" resolution of pending issues. In response, Kim said North Korea has "enough willingness" to hold dialogue with Washington.
Moon has been engaged in a flurry of sports diplomacy since the North's leader agreed to dispatch athletes, cheerleaders, an art troupe and a high-level delegation one after another in his hectic peace offensive that got a stringent nuclear crisis out of everybody's head for two weeks.
However, Washington announced strong new sanctions targeting dozens of vessels, shipping companies and other entities suspected of conducting trade with North Korea. The new measures are aimed at preventing the North from exploiting some loophole in existing U.N. sanctions, especially for under-the-radar fossil fuel transactions.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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